Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick said the cuts will bring the Army's total force to 520,400 active-duty soldiers by October 2016, according to the Army Times report.

â€śWe feel that with the demand going down in Iraq and Afghanistan, and given the time to conduct a reasonable drawdown, we can manage (the force reduction) just as we have managed drawdowns in the past,â€ť Army Times quotes Bostick as saying.

The troop cuts will come in two phases, Bostick told the newspaper, with the first covering the 22,000 troops added to the service three years ago to support the troop surge in Afghanistan. A second phase will cover 27,000 slots added in the Grow the Army program, begun in 2007, he said.

The Army hopes to achieve the cuts through retirements, buyouts and voluntary and involuntary separations, Bostick told Army Times.

In this economy, those approaching 20 years of service will be the first to receive orders to retire unless they are progressing in rank. Others who have reached high year tenure will be non-retained, denied re-enlistment. People are the first to go when defense funding becomes a major issue. There is also proposed legislature to eliminate a 20 year retirement based on 40 and 50% formulas for base pay. New, proposed military retirement plans would be similar to a civilian company 401K. While this may help those who fall short of 20 good years, it eliminates the ability for those under 60 to collect a retirement pension if it passes. Nation building, defense contracting have helped to bankrupt America.

Gosh. I feel bad for them. Anyone who wants to stay in should definitly be allowed to. We should feel honored good people want to serve in the armed forces, especially in time of conflict. They should be rewarded, not hurt. They are heroes.

I can always tell the demise of one terrorist group when some other unpronounceable name like the Haqqani or El sha bob or sur boob start appearing in the press. The unmanned drones in Pakistan seem to really make them upset. Perhaps now the military will increase production given it's effectiveness on Al qaeda militants.

This is actually not a bad thing. Over the last ~10 years I have seen the quality of soldier go down the pooper. We are not going to bounce out our A team, but rather the turds that have been floating around the barrel. All of our fat, whining, profile-riding joe and joe-ettes can go ahead and take it back to the couch. This is going to be across the board, not just lower enlisted but the entire spectrum. If you are not performing it is time to go. I am tired of being a babysitter and having soldiers collecting paychecks while playing the system. The new RCP's gonna get a lot of them.

My husband has been in for 9 years and does not want to get out but might end up being forced out. There are soldiers who want out but can't get out because of their contracts. We will gladly stay in and take their spot. "hey we sent you to IRAQ 3 times and you served your country by choice, not force, but here is a boot in the ass!" Joining to stay in the military 20 years not expecting to ever be forced out......and now what are we going to do? It's not like there are jobs to go to!!!

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